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Eastwood Town - A tribute to Gordon's modelling.


gordon s
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Bloomin’ eck, woke up just after 4am and can’t get back to sleep. I must admit when I get well into a project I find it consumes every brain cell and once I started thinking about the relationship between the sub frame, accessory bus, track bus and main boards, any chance of getting back to sleep went out the window.....:D  

 

Congrats on your quiz prowess St Enodoc. Your 8 out of 10 was better than ours, as we were a team of four.....;)

 

Thanks Scott, got there in the end, but in reality it’s probably only a third of the way, with the shed area and traverser to build, not to mention all the scenic work.....and that’s without even thinking about weathering and digital conversion of some loco’s. Second thoughts, make it a quarter way there.

 

Thanks Brian, I guess we all have our niche skills, but thankfully blurred camera work can hide a multitude of sins. I can get by in a few basics, but can’t say I’m an expert in any of them. Although this has always been my railway room, we know if we ever move, then the railway would have to come down and it would become a bedroom/study/day room, so plenty of light was made available from the outset. Normally the blinds are pulled down, particularly in summer, but with storm Dennis kicking around, I needed plenty of light to see what I was doing.

 

Long term the plan will be to suspend lightweight lighting pelmets from the ceiling and use low voltage led strip lighting directly over the layout. The back straight will possibly pose a problem as the four lines go back under the eaves and if I’m not careful, the strip could cause harsh shadows. I’ll have to face that problem when I get there...;)

 

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised as a lot if stock has been left virtually untouched since I bought them up to 15 years ago, but  a few loco’s will need some work. One diesel in particular ran OK but not 100%, so a quick look was called for. Seems there is no power pick up from one of the bogies, so that’s on the list. Brand new, all those years ago and straight from the factory...makes you wonder about modern QC...

 

Daughter and son in law are here later today for lunch. Feel sorry for Matt as he’s always here when Villa play Spurs and his Villa always get beat. Pure coincidence on the fixture front and we both laugh about it, but today could be his day. Law of averages and all that....

 

I know it was a long time ago, but posting at some ungodly hour takes me back to work days and chatting to others  across the other side of the world. That’s how Early Risers started all those years ago and it’s still going strong...

 

Soon be time to get up....:D

 

Storm Dennis is still blowing, but unlike other poor souls who have been flooded more than once, we have no real damage other than a saturated garden and a few branches down on the golf course.

 

Right, let’s try and get back to sleep. Night all.....

Edited by gordon s
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17 hours ago, hayfield said:

Gordon

 

For large layouts copperclad construction is fine, ones eye is taken away from fine detail to appreciate the larger environment, with smaller layouts I feel one's eye is drawn into the finer detail. As for time taken to build items and skills required they are similar in both skill levels required and time taken, at one time copper clad was much cheaper, that time has long gone

 

13 hours ago, Andy Reichert said:

 

Tony Wrights pictures don't seem to follow that thinking.  Putting the latest exquisitely detailed RTR on track and photographing it in situ is a tough test. Watching a long train pass by at speed, is not.

 

Andy

 

, but a picture isn't an operating layout, you're comparing apples with oranges.

 

Mike.

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15 hours ago, gordon s said:

I don’t disagree, but then we’re not all blessed with Tony’s skills on either front.

 

We just have to enjoy the cards we’re dealt.....;)

 

 

To be fair, Tonys track was built by Norman Soloman. You're pointwork is a joy to behold. I just hope my efforts come close. The look of yours has convinced me to opt for the finer standards.

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Been rummaging around this morning and found this which hasn't seen the light of day for years. A Little Engines kit of an O1 that is in dire need of some TLC. The paintwork needs a spruce up and there are signs of a bow in the footplate over the two rear drivers.

 

It's full of lead, so weighs a ton and will pull anything. It will be on the list of things to do.....

 

Apologies for the solder blob pointwork in the background.....

 

....and someone has nicked the chairs in front. Blooming 'eck, can't trust anyone these days. ;)

 

DSCF0318.jpg.96c777b636ed1ed68fecc7562981f674.jpg

 

I wonder what other surprises may come out in the next few days....

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Hand built pointwork makes a big difference to a layout. The number of times people have thought our layouts are EM due to the pointwork is amazing..Chapel has caught a couple of serious EM modellers out, Cwmafon caught out George Norton..bless him.

 

Your pointwork is a joy to behold. As a mere mortal my layout will be all peco..why?

Time is of the essence.

 

Baz

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Poor old Matt thought he would come here today and for the first time see Villa win.

 

He was gutted....and needless to say I was really sympathetic.....:D

 

Golf cancelled again tomorrow, so back into the toy box to see what I can find. There may be pics of the oddballs...

 

Baz, I’ve adopted your mantra and am testing, testing and more testing.....

 

Of course I really should get on with the build, but I’m enjoying myself.;)

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10 hours ago, Barry O said:

Hand built pointwork makes a big difference to a layout. The number of times people have thought our layouts are EM due to the pointwork is amazing..Chapel has caught a couple of serious EM modellers out, Cwmafon caught out George Norton..bless him.

 

Your pointwork is a joy to behold. As a mere mortal my layout will be all peco..why?

Time is of the essence.

 

Baz

I had a similar experience:

 

"But your layout can't be 00. You've got transition curves".

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13 hours ago, gordon s said:

Of course I really should get on with the build, but I’m enjoying myself.;)

 

I would never be so condescending as to say I told you so ….. but …….

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On 16/02/2020 at 01:06, Denbridge said:

To be fair, Tonys track was built by Norman Soloman. You're pointwork is a joy to behold. I just hope my efforts come close. The look of yours has convinced me to opt for the finer standards.

 

Wide sweeping curves and matching turnouts are nothing to do with a choice of track and wheel standards. But such turnouts often require hand building.

 

Andy

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14 hours ago, Andy Reichert said:

 

Wide sweeping curves and matching turnouts are nothing to do with a choice of track and wheel standards. But such turnouts often require hand building.

 

Andy

Ah, but the closer tolerances achieved around the crossing area of turnouts make all the difference visually and vastly improve running through said turnouts. 

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Morning gang....

 

Well after yesterdays frivolous session with a Big Boy thrashing round, it was almost time to stop playing and get back to construction. Almost, but not quite...

 

Seems most of the RTR stuff has suffered no ill effects from being shut away for years. Open the box, plonk it on the track and away it goes. Sadly my kit built stock had to be coaxed into action, but a few minutes lubrication on all the moving parts seemed to work wonders and it was good to see them run, in many cases for the first time, apart from a six foot test plank that was set up on my dining room table all those years ago.

 

This mornings gratuitous loco shot is a DJH 8F. Although I'm an LNER fan, there were certain LMS locos that were a must have and the 8F and Black 5 have always been favourites of mine. Photography can be a cruel friend and the first think that jumped out at me was the screw coupling on the front. Having what appears to be a small nail in the coupling, does nothing for the loco, so that will have to be replaced at some time in the future. The good news is that having given all the wheels a minor clean and lubricated all of the moving parts, 48209 came into life and trundled happily around the track. 

 

DSCF0352.jpg.b9c09cf52532b5c10d1bd8b685f9082b.jpg

 

'Nuff playing for a while as the next week or two (or longer) will be spent modifying the approach board to ET station to accommodate the four separate loops that will allow four trains to run at once. A bit like Hadley Wood tunnel all those years ago, the 4 into 2 around a good third of the layout would have caused some operation difficulties, hence the latest redesign. This will be the last modification to the existing boards and with luck I will keep trains running whilst work progresses.

 

1823742895_DSCF0342(1).jpg.94a5a51b15d40149f0f72b5cd1cc0fca.jpg

 

It means removal of the turnout A, which will be replaced with plain track. Transition from the inner slow line to the outer fast line will now be via a new crossover that will be built shortly and inserted at point B. 

 

All of that is pretty straightforward. The tricky bit is widening the existing track bed out to take the revised slow line, which will now run in parallel to join the work that has already been completed.  It should be fine as it basically mirrors the work done the other side of ET where the outer slow line starts, but you never know what challenges these jobs present until you get started.

 

This work may however be overtaken, as I have to return to my youth and strip our mower down to try and get the Honda 4 stroke engine to kick into life. A new plug and set of five carburettor/inlet gaskets turned up yesterday and I was reminded over breakfast 'are you going to get the mower done today?'

 

Having thought a little more about it, I don't think it was question.....;)

 

Bless 'em....

 

 

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The boys who run Lime Street keep the loco and stock wheels clean by placing a piece of tissue(single ply) soaked in IPA laid over the track, trains are run over it Whole trains run over it as the enter and exit the storage sidings cleaning all the wheels. The paper is kept moist (hand spray bottle) at all times and replaced when dirty, I guess you need to do this in a well ventilated area

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Phew, got away with that one. Whilst my wife was out walking the dog, I thought I'd take a short cut and rather not strip it all down to take off the carburettor, I'd just change the plug and see what happens. One pull and whoopee, off it went.

 

Of course now I've got to hide the gasket kit as it will ruin my story about what a pig of a job it was out there in the cold.

 

I meant to say earlier, I did risk one eye, by asking if I could strip the mower down on the kitchen table in the warm......You can guess the answer. ;)

 

I'm now a hero and in the clear for the rest of the day, unless.....

 

 

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2 hours ago, gordon s said:

'Nuff playing for a while as the next week or two (or longer) will be spent modifying the approach board to ET station to accommodate the four separate loops that will allow four trains to run at once. A bit like Hadley Wood tunnel all those years ago, the 4 into 2 around a good third of the layout would have caused some operation difficulties, hence the latest redesign.

If it's any consolation, I once failed to get a job because at interview I couldn't come up with a clever solution to the two-track capacity issue over Welwyn Viaduct. That was more than 30 years ago, and has it changed? 

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Mower? In February?

 

I once had a petrol strimmer that was an absolute pig to start. removing the spark plug showed it as lightly coated and the gap correct. Testing with a resistance meter and continuity meter showed it was fine, but it would hardly ever start and often stopped when it did deign to start.

I eventually traced the fault: the central porcelain insulator that surround the centre electrode had sheared off below the level where you could see it.

Result: hold the plug up for examination, it was in place and apparently perfect. FIT the damned thing and the insulator slipped down to effectively cover the spark gap....

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Another one to watch out for is 'stale' petrol. Leave a tankful in the mower for a few months over winter and somehow it looses its ability to to explode. A few years ago I got caught out by that one. Once I emptied the small tank and refilled with new stuff, it started quite happily.

 

Mow the lawn in February? I must admit to feeling guilty mowing whilst others were wading through water....Thoughts are with anyone who has been flooded. I can't imagine how awful it must be.

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20 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

If it's any consolation, I once failed to get a job because at interview I couldn't come up with a clever solution to the two-track capacity issue over Welwyn Viaduct. That was more than 30 years ago, and has it changed? 

 

Nothing that some double decking wouldn't cure. ....

 

I'm sure the Romans would have had it sorted in weeks....:D

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